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Interpreting History Preaching and the Recovery of the Church RICHARD R. CAEMMERER Homiletics Theological Observer Book Review Vol. XXXVII March 1966 No.3
Transcript
Page 1: Vol. XXXVII March 1966 No · translation of these two key postapostolic documents and has written the commentary on the latter work. Grant has prepared the commentary on First Clement.

Interpreting History

Preaching and the Recovery of the Church

RICHARD R. CAEMMERER

Homiletics

Theological Observer

Book Review

Vol. XXXVII March 1966 No.3

Page 2: Vol. XXXVII March 1966 No · translation of these two key postapostolic documents and has written the commentary on the latter work. Grant has prepared the commentary on First Clement.

ACQUIRING AND DEVELOPING CHURCH REAL EST ATE. By Joseph Stiles. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice­Hall, 1965. 176 pages. Cloth. $3.95.

USING AND MAINTAINING CHURCH PROPERTY. By Allen W. Graves. Engle­wood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965. 192 pages. Cloth. $3.95.

This pair of books will furnish pastors, staff members, church committee members, and custodial personnel with most of what they need to know and do about chutch property.

The first book listed is quite a complete step-by-step discussion of what is involved in determining actual needs, setting long­range goals, planning for actual building, selecting the architect, and selecting com­mittees to handle finance, legal matters, con­struction details, and publicity.

The second book listed discusses the or­ganization of schedules, the management of an adequate program of maintenance, and the use and custodial care of the physical equip­ment and grounds of the local church.

Most of what should be known about cleaning, equipment, storage rooms, work schedules, job descriptions, supervision of custodial staff, painting, repairs, record keep­ing, periodic safety checks, landscaping, park­ing lots, parsonage upkeep and much more is brought in for its share of attention.

HARRY G. COINER

THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. Vol. 2: First and Second Clement. Edited by Robert M. Grant and Holt H. Graham. New

I BOOK REVIEW

All books reviewed m this periodical. may be procured from 01' through ConcOf'dia Pub­lishing Hottse, 3558 South Jefferson Aventls, St. Louis, Missottri 63118.

York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1965. Cloth. $4.00.

Graham has prepared a fresh English translation of these two key postapostolic documents and has written the commentary on the latter work. Grant has prepared the commentary on First Clement. This work, especially Grant's commentary, places into the hands of the English reader a distillation of the studies of the best European scholars. Grant's own research is in evidence on every page as well. Graham reveals his broad ac­quaintance with pertinent early Christian lit­erature. He devotes most of his work to the interpretation of the theology of Second Clement.

Several features make Grant's commentary particularly usefuL He devotes considerable space to an analysis of the Biblical citations in First Clement to show the author's use of and attitude toward the Scriptutes. He makes valuable suggestions concerning the source of many of Clement's key thoughts. The Bibli­cal and Hellenistic sources are documented. His attention to the rhetorical elements in First Clement provides the reader with a val­uable demonstration of the importance of knowing the literary form of a document if one is to interpret it correctly. Thus Clem­ent's glowing description of the "Golden Age" of the Corinthian congregation in Ch. 2 is not proof of the author's naivete or un­truthfulness; it is simply a classic example of Hellenistic rhetoric. The resemblances to some of the Pauline passages are instructive.

The translation follows a path midway be­tween the very readable but sometimes para­phrastic work of Cyril Richardson and the

173

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174 BOOK REVIEW

older, usually overly literal translation of Kirsopp Lake. It would seem that Grant was working from his own translation, for his quotations from First Clement usually differ from the Graham text. A list of Scriptural citations in the two documents and a highly select and therefore valuable bibliography for each work are also included in this edition.

HERBERT T. MAYER

BY WHAT AUTHORITY? THE STAN­DARDS OF TRUTH IN THE EARLY CHURCH. By Bruce Shelley. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965. 166 pages. Paper. $1.95.

This is a popular review of the relation­ship of Scripture to tradition in the first 200 years of the Christian church. Shelley finds an interest in inspiration on the part of some of the fathers which exaggerates their real concern with this topic. He makes Irenaeus more of a traditionalist than the Biblical theologian that he was. The nature and function of apostolic authority should have been treated more fully. He challenges some of the ideas of Scripture and tradition which have become popular in Christian circles. The presentation of this technical subject for lay discussion is commendable.

HERBERT T. MAYER

CHRIST ON CAMPUS. By Donald 1. Deff­ner. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1965. 156 pages. Cloth. $2.75.

This beautiful book has the subtitle "Med-itations for College Life." Many times a campus pastor will hand it to a student or staff person, or pull it from the shelf during an interview and share some of its para­graphs. Actually it appears to address the pastor as much as the campus personnel. It opens horizons of concern and sensitizes the reader to areas of inner disquiet even more than it functions as instant dialog or capsuled pastoral service. The author does not hesi-

tate to reveal his personal experience as a pastor to campus people. At the same time he speaks from deepening insights concern­ing the Wlord of Christ communicable through Gospel and Sacrament and from the anxieties of a trainer of campus pastors. The author has a special competence in the field of theology in literature, and his book shows craftsmanship in expression and quotation. This book is welcome not only as a resource for many future engagements of ministry on campuses but as a reflection of principles and standards already defined and at work.

RICHA..'ll R. CAEMMERER

CONFIRMATION: A STUDY DOCU­MENT. By the Commission on Education of the Lutheran World Federation. Min­neapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1964. 90 pages. Paper. $1.50.

This is a reprint, with minor omissions, of Document 16 of the Lutheran World Federa­tion's Commission on Education, prepared for the Fourth Assembly at Helsinki in 1963. The report is an outgrowth of special study conferences, national and international in scope. The first was held at Hofgeismar, Ger­many, in October 1957 and the second at Loccum, Germany, in April 1961. The ma­terials from these conferences were later pub­lished under the editorship of Dr. Kurt Fror. The papers, the publications, and the discus­sions are the main sources for the present study document.

Confirmation: A Study Document is a val­uable contribution to the discussion of con­firmation going on in Lutheran churches throughout the world. \V'hile Europeans have had the topic under consideration for more than a century, it was not until some 10 years ago that Lutherans in America became seri­ously concerned with their own more tradi­tional, but less Lutheran, practice.

Three areas of study comprise the scope of the document: The historical part, the order and practice of confirmation, and the discus-

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BOOK REVIEW 175

sion of the papers presented on the theology and order of the rite of confirmation. Of spe­cial value is the section on the parts of the rite of confirmation with its discussions of the instruction and examination, confirmation and Baptism, confirmation and Holy Com­munion, and confirmation and church mem­bership.

This study document is recommended not only for personal use but particularly as a basis of study at pastoral conferences.

ARTHUR C REPP

CONSTANTINOPLE, ICONOGRAPHY OF A SACRED CITY. By Philip Sher­rard. London: Oxford University Press, 1965. 139 pages, map, 45 black-and-white illustrations, 11 color plates. Cloth. $14.50.

Constantinople was founded as a Christian city; as such its inhabitants regarded it as the new Jerusalem. It was also the center of Roman government; as such it was the new Rome. From its very foundation it posed the question, as Sherrard says, of the kingdom of God and also of Antichrist (p. 113). For over 1,100 years Eastern Christendom re­volved about this great city. It set patterns in art, architecture, luxury, government, ritual, and vice for a large segment of Christendom.

Sherrard does not write the history of Constantinople; instead, by word and picture he recreates the mood, the flavor, the spirit and ethos of the church, the court, and the people in its long history. Marvelous selec­tions from Byzantine authors illuminate his comments. One tours Hagia Sophia with Paul the Silentiary. One admires the ritual order of court functions with French and Arabic visitors in the ninth century. One listens to Photius' adulatory language to the Virgin Mary as he describes how her cloak, carried about the walls, protected the city. One catches the flavor of this city that Sher­rard calls one great reliquary. One cowers under St. Daniel the Stylite's denunciations of the emperor Basiliscus in the fifth century.

Instead of providing abstract generaliza­tions about the moral disintegration that led among other things to Constantinople's fall, Sherrard lets us hear Joseph Bryennios' hot denunciation of priest, people, and court. Magnificent illustrations of ancient books, buildings, icons, and mosaics illustrate the spirit of the age.

Such a broad description of a city's soul requires sympathetic listening to a vast amount of material in many languages, an­cient and modern. Sherrard is more than equal to the material in scholarship, while his writing is facile and clear. As a result, the book can be read with appreciation by anyone interested in history, professional or not. One can recommend it for the home as well as for the study. EDGAR KRENTZ

CORPORATE PERSONALITY IN AN­CIENT ISRAEL. By H. Wheeler Robin­son; edited by John Reumann. Philadel­phia: Fortress Press, 1965. xiii and 39 pages. Paper. 75 cents.

Two of Robinson's influential essays are reprinted in this volume with an introduc­tion by John Reumann. The first of these, "Corporate Personality in Ancient Israel," was presented in 1936 as Beiheft 66 of the Zeitschrift My Alttestamentliche Wissen­s chaft and still remains a basic text on the subject. The second is a less known article from The Individual in East and West, pub­lished in 1937. Robinson reflects the posi­tion current in the previous generation that the individual emerged in ancient Israel pri­marily through the prophetic consciousness of men like Jeremiah and EzekieL The essays are well worth being reprinted and studied!

NORMAN C. HABEL

THE DATE OF THE LAST SUPPER. By Annie Jaubert; translated by Isaac Rafferty. Staten Island, N. Y: Alba House, 1965. 171 pages. Cloth. $3.50.

A careful examination of the relevant an-

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176 BOOK REVmW

cient texts will reveal two Jewish calendats in use in the first century. One calendar, which is reflected in the Book of Jubilees and Qumran literature, has priestly origins. This calendar dated festivals on days of the week, not on days of the month. The Passover proper took place on Wednesday (the mid­point of the week), with the Passover meal being eaten on Tuesday evening. Miss Jau­bert also believes that early Christian liturgy and history reflects this calendar (Didache, Victorinus of Pettau, the Quartodeciman con­troversy) .

Miss Jaubert suggests that the Synoptics were dating events on this basis, thus allow­ing for their interpretation of the last supper as a Passover meal. John, however, was using the later and more popular calendar which dated Jesus' death before the Passover meal. Careful study of the texts will vindicate the historicity and accuracy of the Gospels, if this solution is adopted, according to the author.

This thesis, originally put forward in French, has been debated for over a decade. The English translation will enable more people to test the theory against the New Testament texts. It deserves reading.

EDGAR KRENTZ

THE DEACON WORE SPATS: PROFILES FROM AMERICA'S CHANGING RELI­GIOUS SCENE. By John T. Stewart. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1965. xii and 193 pages. Cloth. $4.95.

The deacon in cutaway and spats - he really did weat them - is a figure of early 20th-century Protestant religious respecta­bility. He wore them on Sundays - spats, cutaway, religiosity. America's changing re­ligious scene still features a superabundance of religiosity. The social gospel has given way to neoorthodoxy. Modern mass commu­nication media dominate much religious ac­tivity. The ecumenical movement and Vati-

can Council II thawed out some frozen bones in ecclesiastical deepfreezes.

Stewart's profiles of these 65 yeats are shatply etched. Personalities dominate his account - names make news. One meets old friends on these pages - O. C. J. Hoffmann, Mattin Schatlemann, Martin Marty, Paul Ylvisaker - and men whom one knows by reputation. The former St. Louis Post-Dis­patch religion editor has a keen eye, a hard nose for news, and of course a facile pen. He favors the liberal causes through the years, but a keen sense of the relevant guided his pen - his typewriter. His journalistic talents endowed him also with a historian's crafts­manship. His judgments are keen, and only time will tell if they ate correct. His ques­tions are penetrating. Sometimes he brings information that has not been published pre­viously.

He heard many sermons. In them he liked short sentences with strong, simple English verbs, few adjectives, and vigorous nouns.

Preachers, seminary students, alert laymen will relish this fascinating account of religion in America in the 20th century.

CARL S. MEYER

DEUTSCHER KATHOLIZISMUS NACH 1945. Edited by Hans Maier. Munich: Kosel Verlag, 1964. 223 pages. Paper. Price not given.

One would hardly go far amiss if one stated the theme of this fine and refreshing compilation of essays in Beyreuther's words as "metamorphoses are historical necessities." But these essays do more than record a chang­ing stance of Roman Catholicism as com­pared with the medieval period or even the 19th century. The fact that the Roman Catholic Church is making wider use of the vernaculat and that some Roman Catholic congregations sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is but a minuscule facet of a vast meta­morphosis. The authors would of course be quick to point out that the term metamor-

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BOOK REVIEW 177

phosis must not be taken to mean the emer­gence of a new church. The Dominican Franz-Martin Scholz is emphatic on this point in the first essay of the volume, a pro­found analysis of the confrontation of the church with the world, especially in an age of secularism. He does admit, however, that the Roman Catholic Church has undergone striking alterations in appearance and cir­cumstances.

In spite of a nonbenign reference to Lu­ther's views on vocation, this reviewer was much impressed by Walter Kerber's essay ("Kirche und moderne Arbeitswelt") on the church's problems in connection with the contemporary ethos of labor. He reflects a genuinely Christian philosophy on the real value of vocation when he says: "A Christian who in a state of grace carries out a secular assignment can no longer act only as a 'purely natural human being:"

The other essays deal with aspects of so­ciety and history. All in all this volume is a scholarly contemporary insight into the problems which confronted and confront German Roman Catholics as they confront all Christian communions right down to the present day. This reviewer highly recom­mends the book, especially to churchmen on the new frontiers of our contemporary world.

PHILIP J. SCHROEDER

D. MARTIN LUTHERS WERKE: KRI­TISCHE GESAMTAUSGABE Vol. 32: REVISlONSNACHTRAG. Weimar: Her­mann Bohlaus Nachfolger, 1964. 141 pages. Paper. Price not given.

This brochure corrects errors noted in VoL 32 of the Weimar edition of Luther's works - rust published in 1906 and con­taining Luther's sermons of 1530 and a series of weekday sermons on the Sermon on the Mount from the years 1530 through 1532-and brings it up to date.

The importance of this revision project is

obvious, and Luther scholars throughout the world owe a great debt to the contributors, editors, and publisher who are carrying it out.

LEWIS W. SPITZ

EINLEITUNG IN DAS ALTE TEST A­MENT UNTER EINSCHLUSS DER APOKRYPHEN UND PSEUDEPIGRA­PHEN SO WIE DER APOKRYPHEN­UND PSEUDEPIGRAPHENARTIGEN QUMRAN-SCHRIFTEN: ENTsTEH­UNGSGESCHICHTE DES ALTEN TES­T AMENTS. By Otto Eissfeldto 3d edition. Tlibingen: J. c. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1964. xvi and 1,129 pages. Paper, DM 54.00; cloth, DM 59.00.

In its very growth from 753 pages (Ist ed., 1934) through 955 pages (2d ed., 1956) to its present 1,129 pages this splen­did introduction to the Old Testament testi­nes not only to the author's skill as a com­piler but also to the surging increase of research on the Old Testament as a whole. Since the second edition, 51 pages of sup­plementary literature have been added, the index of authors extended 10 pages, and sev­eral new theological journals and reference works included. All nve major sections have undergone thorough revision in the light of continuing archaeological discovery and changing patterns of Old Testament research. More Near Eastern and Egyptian sources as well as literature from Qumran (commen­taries on Isaiah, Hosea, Nahum, and Ps. 57 from Cave 1: commentaries on Pss. 37 and 45 from Cave 4; Prayer of Naboned) have been noted. To the credit of the cautious Halle theologian who wrote the book it must be stated that such additions in the main tend to confirm and substantiate rather than alter positions espoused in the first two editions.

This painstaking collection of research and enlightening introduction into the Old Testament and related literature, by a scholar whom this journal's review of the 2d edition (XXIX [1958], 536-37) identified as

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standing "right of center," is probably the most comprehensive introduction on the market today. Readers restricted to English have cause to rejoice that this classic work is now available in an English translation.

JOHN H. ELLIOTT

THE GOSPELS AND ACTS. By Donald Guthrie. Chicago, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1965. 380 pages. Cloth. $5.95.

This book marks the completion of a mas­sive and erudite 3-volume New Testament Introduction by the professor of New Testa­ment at The London Bible College. It will provide evangelical and conservative scholars with an arsenal of facts and opinions for a generation. The publication also enables us to make some comments that relate to the entire work. Since it deserves wide use, it is to be hoped that a revision is contemplated by the publisher.

In the first place, one can only admire the industry and care that have gone into making the work a kind of catalog of opinions on isagogical matters. The coverage of mono­graphs and important journal articles in English, German, and French is well-nigh complete. The only works that this reviewer missed as he read the work were ViI. R. Farmer's recent volume on the synoptic prob­lem and R. Hummel's Die Auseinandersetz­ung zwischen Kirche und Iudentum im Mat­thausevangelium. Nor was mention made of C. H. Turner's panel theory for the construc­tion of Acts. But such omissions are slight. Moreover, the presentation of this bewilder­ing mass of opinions is usually fair and just. Order is brought into the presentation. In short, one can turn to the work with con­fidence.

The general position taken is informed conservatism, or as Guthrie would probably say, evangelicalism. One principle generally runs through the volume: in dttbio pro tradito. Yet this conservatism is not blind. While questions of authorship and dating

are resolved in favor of traditional positions, the decision is not due to sheer epigonism. At times Guthrie refuses to state a very pre­cise opinion (for example, on the date of Matthew). He cautiously admits the exis­tence of Q, suggests that Stendahl's theory of a school behind Matthew may have some element of truth, agrees that no adequate life of Jesus can be written on the basis of the gospels, accepts the priority of Mark and its subsequent use by Matthew and Luke, and so on. It is clear, therefore, that his opinions are based on a working through of the rele­vant data.

Some statements and opinions were sur­prising. Guthrie gives no clean definition of authenticity as he applies the term to the gospels. On p.204 it seems to be equated with authoritative, while p. 206 seems to use it of that which is historically reliable. Then the term is linked to the ascription of the gospels to the authors given in early Chris­tian tradition, although the books themselves are anonymous. (One may ask how this re­lates to sola scriptura.) All this leads to a curious argument later on p. 210: One can trust that the books are authentic, because the early church was composed of "men of the Spirit who would recognize at once those literary productions which were authentically Spirit-directed." Quite apart from the con­flicting evidence from the earlier Pauline epistles, one is surprised at this view of the church in an evangelical author. And if the church is Spirit-filled in this sense, then the discussion of Redaktionskritik, to which Guthrie devotes only one page, is surpris­ingly negative and brief.

A major lack in the three volumes is that Guthrie nowhere describes in continuity his historical and theological assumptions and criteria. The reader is left to infer them from scattered notations. Nor does Guthrie ever discuss the nature and purpose of isagogical study. Is it primarily apologetic? What is its value? What is its function in theologi-

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BOOK REVIEW 179

cal education and in the proclamation of the Gospel? How do its results aid in the inter­pretation of specific texts? For example, there is no indication that Guthrie's adoption of the priority of Mark has hermeneutical im­plications for the study of Matthew and Luke. For this one must turn to the radically critical Einleitung of Willi Marxen.

Again, Guthrie nowhere discusses the for­mation of the New Testament canon. Thus the scope of New Testament introduction is left in the air. I'llt his view of the role of the Spirit-filled church makes this an omis­sion that must be repaired. It is to be hoped that a supplementary volume on the canon will be published.

Some lesser points must also be men­tioned. The examination of the prologue to

Luke's Gospel was judicious and enlighten­ing. The chapter on John was noteworthy for its delineation of the problems to be taken into account, although this reviewer was surprised to find no mention of John 4:54 and 20:30f. in the discussion of the "signs source" in John. The identification of structure and framework in Mark is not just, while the statement that there are "fewer theological implications" in Mark (p. 50) than in Matthew and Luke is one that this re­viewer cannot share.

Physically the volumes are carefully de­signed, printed, and bound. If you are at all interested in things historical in the Bible, all three volumes are probably a must for you. EDGAR KRENTZ

HEALING AND R8DEMPTION. By Mar-tin H. Scharlemann. Publishing House, Paper. $1.95.

St. Louis: Concordia 1965. 122 pages.

Scharlemann has made a valuable con-tribution toward the reconciliation of two elements too long divorced: healing and theology. The current distance between them is all the more remarkable in view of their

close union at the beginning of the Chris­tian era.

For the author Biblical theology is the dis­covery of the great power of God demon­strated in His mighty acts of creation, re­demption, and sanctification and then applied to man in his need for healing and whole­ness.

In his first chapter the author sees the di­lemma of "man in isolation" heightened by three inherited presuppositions: "the ancient Greek view of a dichotomy between the Yl'Orld of the material and the realm of the ideal; the adoption of scientific methods of analysis and study as the only adequate way to truth; and the process of individualiza­tion." (P.17)

Against such fragmented views of man and the world which are themselves basic roots of human disorders, Scharlemann op­poses a Biblical view of "man in solidariry and totality." He warns against any stunted views which see man either as too "spiritual" or too "corporeal" and emphasizes that health is wholeness, not just the absence of disease.

Perhaps the most valuable contribution of this entire study appears in the section on "man in continuiry and communiry." Scharle­mann recalls the Christian congregation to its birthright as a community of healing. It was fashioned by God to serve functions of physi­cal and spiritual healing that can never be adequately performed by completely secular medical science.

In discussing "the ministry of healing" the point is made that the time of miracles has not come to an end and "there is healing in belonging."

All this comes to a climax in the fifth chapter on "the congregation as a therapeutic communiry." Only the pastor content to drone along in a purely verbalized ministry will fail to avail himself of the insights of this excellent section.

A postscript acknowledges the author's in­debtedness to (among other things) the con-

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180 BOOK REVIEW

sultation on the healing ministry sponsored by the Lutheran W orId Federation and the W orId Council of Churches at Tiibingen in May of 1964.

Pastors, people, and missionaries who have thoughtlessly turned the whole task of physi­cal healing over to the men of science will here be irresistibly reminded of the great primary responsibility which is theirs. Who knows? Perhaps the parish is not so obsolete as many fear, if the congregation again be­comes conscious of being a "healing com­munity of Christ."

A few insignificant errors that have slipped in include the following:

Dr. Thomas A. Dooley was content to have his medical apprentices practice not "15th-century medicine in a country used to 11th-century techniques" (p.24), but 17th­century medicine in a country living in the 15th century. By "Syrus" on p.49 no doubt "Cyrus" is meant. And the proofreaders failed to turn "be" into "he" on p.75.

We bespeak and predict a wide use in world mission circles for this valuable study. Pastors and medical people, the sick and the well need this Biblical orientation to the wholeness that can only come from God through all His people. The Medical Mis­sion Council of The Lutheran Church­Missouri Synod, which commissioned the study, is to be commended for drawing on theological resources to meet its practical concern. May other administrative groups do likewise. WILLIAM J. DANKER

HISTORY AND THEOLOGY IN SEC­OND ISAIAH. By James D. Smart. Phil­adelphia: The Westminster Press, 1965. 304 pages. Cloth. $6.50.

A strong theological interest sets this com­mentary, like most written today, in contrast with works of a generation or more ago. Its stimulating discussions of the prophet's mes­sage to his day and ours constitute the most valuable sections of this book.

Noting the haziness of the historical allu­sions in Isaiah 40-66, Smart attempts a fresh approach. He proposes to examine the prophet's theology first, believing that a proper understanding of this may lead to a proper understanding of the historical situation.

The resultant view resembles the theory of C. C. Torrey at points. Isaiah 40-66 is the work of one prophet living in Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem among a community which is more important than the Chronicler has led us to believe. He does not address the Babylonian Jews specifically but the whole Jewish diaspora in all lands. He pro­claims that Yahweh will shortly purify His once blind servant-people that they may be­come a light to the nations, bringing God's universal rule.

Smart makes a surprisingly good, though hardly compelling, case for his views. He is least convincing when he excises those verses mentioning Cyrus and Babylon, in whole or in part, while castigating those sug­gesting removal of the word "Israel" from 49: 5 for "eisegesis of the worst kind, the changing of what is plainly a text that has the support of all the most dependable tradi­tions in the interests of a theory (p. 124)."

The jacket puts it well: "Scholars may debate Dr. Smart's dating and analysis of these writings; but all readers will learn a great deal about the message and theologi­cal significance of Second Isaiah, and minis­ters will find much that is helpful in preach-ing." CARL F. GRAESSER, JR.

HORACE BUSHNELL. Edited by H. Shel­ton Smith. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. 407 pages. Cloth. $7.00.

"Horace Bushnell, like Jonathan Edwards," the editor says, "is once again being redis­covered." As a matter of fact, however, Bush­nell's impact on American theology has been such that he had really never been entirely forgotten. The editorial board of A Library

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BOOK REVIEW 181

of Protestant Thought has by publishing this volume made it possible for the editor to intensify the rediscovery of Bushnell by turn­ing the spotlight on sections of this New England theologian's more significant writ­ings. The editor's generous and sympathetic introductions to the book and its parts help the reader to see Bushnell's points of view in their historical setting.

The selections appear in two parts. The first reveals Bushnell's foundations of theo­logical method, the second his theological reconstruction. This part is of particular im­portance inasmuch as it presents his position on the vicarious sacrifice, forgiveness and law, and justification by faith.

A selected bibliography contains a list of Bushnell's writings and a selection of writ­ings concerning him and his New England background. The index is sufficiently de­tailed and comprehensive to give the reader a sense of the broad field of Bushnell's theo­logical concerns and to serve as a guide to

them. For anyone interested in the theological

history of the United States this is a good book, no matter how much he mayor should disagree with Bushnell's basic theology.

LEWIS W. SPITZ

INTERN/lTlONALE ZEITSCHRIFTEN-SCHAU FOR BIBEL WISSENSCHAFT UND GRENZGEBIETE; INTERNA­TIONAL REVIEW OF BIBLICAL sTUDIES; REVUE INTERNATIONAL DES ETUDES BIBLIQUES. Vol. X: 1963/64. Dusseldorf: Patmos-Verlag, 1964. xii and 318 pages. DM 56.00.

The comprehensive coverage of the inter­national fare of theological, philological, his­torical, and liturgical literature on the Bible, its language, theology, history, archaeology, and topography, as well as on Israel, Judaism, and the early church, together with the excel­lent format and indices, make this bibliog­raphical aid an indispensable tool for theo-

logical research. In this present volume, digests of 2,104 titles from over 400 period­icals, publication series (including commen­taries and encyclopedias), collected essays, and Festschriften which appeared during the years 1963-1964 are offered in either Ger­man, English, or French. Its well-detailed table of contents and indices of authors and periodicals afford instant location of general areas of research or specific titles. The ab­stracts, composed mostly by Roman Catholic scholars, are precise and objective. Five cor­rections of entries in volume IX (1962/63) are also included. JOHN H. ELLIOTT

JOHANNES CALVIN, 1509-1564: EINE GABE ZU SEINEM 400. TODEST AG. Edited by Joachim Rogge. Berlin: Evan­gelische Verlagsanstalt, 1964. 172 pages. Cloth. Price not given.

CALVINS MENSCHLICHKEIT. By Rich­ard Stauffer. Zurich: EVZ - Verlag, 1964. 71 pages. Paper. Sw. Fr. 7.80.

The 400th anniversary of Calvin's death in 1964 was widely observed and called forth writings of various kinds. The two books here under review contain six essays in toto, besides a bibliography, notes, and a valuable 52-page collection of source ma­terials from Calvin's writings and letters translated by Rogge. Gunter Gloede writes on Calvin's ecumenicism. Werner Krusche's analysis of Calvin's theology is very much worthwhile. Heinz Langhoff investigates questions pertaining to Calvin, for example, the "accusativus - legend," which asserts that Calvin as a schoolboy was called "the accusative case" because of his disposition; the legend is not true. Langhoff's essay brings welcome interpretations. Fritz Schroter finds the answer to the question of Calvin's signif­icance today in his witness to the liberty of God {ein Zeuge der Freiheit Gottes}.

Stauffer portrays Calvin as husband and

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182 BOOK REVIEW

father, friend, and pastor. His annotations are especially full.

All of these essays are helpful for a better grasp of Calvin's life and thought.

CARL S. MEYER

JOHN KNOX. By Eustace Percy. Rich­mond, Va.: John Knox Press, 1965. 343 pages. Cloth. $4.50.

Few biographies have received the acclaim awarded Percy's biography of the Scottish reformer. Percy combined a thorough knowl­edge of his subject with a felicitous mode of expression. Perhaps the quotation of a few sentences can illustrate the author's style. In connection with "the troubles in Frankfurt" Percy writes: "And, if Englishmen from Cox onwards have thus underrated the Scottish sense of worship, Scotsmen from Knox on­wards have no less underrated the English sense of ~ripture. It is another paradox that the English Book is more dependent on the Bible than the Scottish order" (p. 165 ). The work was originally published in 1937. Harold J. Grimm calls it "penetrating." It deserves this high commendation.

CARL S. MEYER

JOURNAL FOR THEOLOGY AND THE CHURCH. Edited by Robert Funk. Vol. I: The Bultmann School of Biblical Intel'pt'etation: New Directions? 183 pages. Vol. II: Translating Theology into the Modem Age; 179 pages. New York: Harper & Row, 1965. Paper. $1.95 per volume.

Three years in the planning stage, this new journal is a little sister of Zeitschrift fUr Theologie und Kirche, edited by Gerhard Ebeling. For the first, the English-language version will publish in translation landmark articles of the German journal since 1950; as English-language contributions become avail­able, these will take their place alongside the translations from the German. Thus the

journal has a twofold purpose: (1) To foster international theological dialog; (2) to cul­tivate an indigenous English-language theo­logical conversation. The eight essays of Vol. I are in the Biblical field, the six essays of Vol. II are in the areas of historical, sys­tematic, and pastoral theology. The interna­tional editorial board of the English periodi­cal, in addition to Funk, counts as members Frank M. Cross, John Dillenberger, Gerhard Ebeling, Helmut Koster, Heiko A. Oberman, Schubert M. Ogden, and James M. Robinson. The contributors to the first two issues are Ernst Bizer, Herbert Braun, Rudolf Bult­mann, Erick DinkIer, Ebeling, Hartmut Gese, Ernst Haenchen, Ernst Kasemann, Koster, Manfred Mezger, Martin Noth, Robinson, Hanns Riickert, and Dietrich von Oppen. The new journal promises to be a handy way for American clergymen who have little or no German to catch up with the last decade and a half of German theology and, once the English language contributions begin to flow, to keep up with one segment of the theologi-cal world. ARTHUR CARL PIEPKORN

KtJNSTLER UNSERER ZEIT KtJNDEN DAS WORT. Eine Anthologie biblischer Graphik. Edited by Fritz Riebold. Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1963. 259 pages. Cloth. DM 9.80.

In his Worship in Word and Sacrament Ernest Koenker observes that the three basic criteria of modern art are simplicity, honesty, and directness. This anthology manifests all three traits. From the famous Kl'euzkalender, which he has edited annually since 1927, Riebold has reproduced 247 of the most out­standing sketches or graphics on Old and New Testament themes. On the page oppo­site each drawing is the Biblical pericope which it is intended to proclaim, followed by a brief editorial comment.

All the artists are outstanding contem­poraries (Barlach, Dix, Hegenbarth, Reuter among others) and their works reflect a con-

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BOOK REVIEW 183

frontation with the realities of war, devasta­tion, and the moral bankruptcy of the human race. But the attitudes and moods and ex­pressions of love and mercy and faith are even more simply and directly proclaimed. The book's foreword reminds the reader that the requirement of all artists who would in­deed communicate is that "they speak the language of their own age." These artists have done precisely that and thereby the Biblical message, free from false pathos and romantic sentimentality, stands out as a word of judgment and pardon.

JOHN H. ELLIOTT

LUTHER. By Rene-Jacques Lovy. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1964. 226 pages. Paper. 12.00 New Francs.

In five chapters a Lutheran French pastor and scholar has put together a readable ac­count of the great Reformer. He treats the younger Luther up to 1530. He makes use of the research of Th. Suss and others; how­ever, he has demonstrated his own standing as a Luther scholar. We hope that this Lu­ther biography will have a wide circulation in France and other French-speaking coun­tries. Distorted views of Luther are current in those countries and Lovy's work can be a corrective. CARL S. :MEYER

MISSION MYTH AND REALITY. By Keith Bridston. New York: Friendship Press, 1965. 127 pages. Paper. $1.75.

Bridston is not warming bottles of milk for babes but broiling strong meat for those who know, love, and practice God's world­wide mission through His church.

The author's rich and varied credentials include service in the Student Christian Movement, on the staff of the W orId Stu­dent Christian Federation in Geneva, and as professor of theology first at Djakarta, then at Nommensen University among the Bataks, and now at Pacific Lutheran Seminary in Berkeley.

His analysis is brief, brilliant, and radical, caring more about the right questions than the right answers. Trenchantly, Bridston dis­sects four "myths," that is, frameworks of orientation and devotion that have in the past given meaning and motivation for mis­sion: "The Geographical Myth and the One· ness of the Church"; "The Cultural Myth and the Holiness of the Church"; "The Ecclesiological Myth and the Catholicity of the Church"; and "The Vocational Myth and the Apostolicity of the Church."

'Ylith a change of key, the fifth and fmal chapter on "The Ecumenical Reality" at­tempts in more positive mood to discover remedies for the maladies laid bare by the author's searching diagnosis. He stoutly maintains that the church is mission and that the mission is ecumenical.

While he lampoons the "mystical doc· trine" that salt water makes a missionary, Bridston is not seeking to abolish the over· seas calling but strives to make it seem a nor­mal and natural vocation for almost any Christian, who should ask, not: "Should I be a missionary?" but: "Being a missionary, why should I not go?" He predicts that the mis· sion board of the future will be less engaged in managing its own salaried missionary corps than in training lay missionaries for service in secular organizations at home and abroad.

Knowledgeable students of the Christian world mission, mission executives, and over· seas missionaries cannot afford to miss this arresting critique.

WILLIAM J. DANKER

ON TRIAL. Sermons for Lent and Easter. By Arnold G. Kuntz. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 1965. 102 pages. Paper. U.50.

These strong and contemporary sermons traverse the history of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Three ser­mons introduce "witnesses for the prosecu-

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184 BOOK REVIEW

tion," a Pharisee, a Sadducee, and a Money Changer; three let "witnesses for the de­fense," Barabbas, Simon Peter, and Pontius Pilate, testify; the Defendant speaks on Maundy Thursday; Good Friday brings the theme "Trial and Error"; and Easter wit­nesses to "Trial and Triumph." The first­person introductions of the "witnesses" do not prevent the preacher from making pun­gent and searching applications to the audi­ence before him. Many of these applications involve life and self-sacrifice. The author directly transports the atonement into the minds of his hearers also then. Many a preacher will benefit from this series, not by imitating its format seriatim but by read­ing it straight through without interruption, perhaps repeatedly, until he is hearing the live communication and sensing the pastoral responsibility for bringing the Gospel home to living human beings.

RICHARD R. CAEMMERER

PRE-SEMINARY EDUCATION. By Keith R. Bridston and Dwight W. Culver, Min­neapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1965. 252 pages and index. Cloth. $4.75.

Bridston, now professor of systematic the-ology at Pacific Lutheran Seminary, and Cul­ver, of the sociology department of St. Olaf College, herewith present findings and com­mentary of the Lilly Endowment Study of Pre-Seminary Education which they under­took in 1961 under the joint sponsorship of the American Association of Theological Schools and the National Association of Bib­lical Instructors (now the American Academy of Religion). Bridston, the director, pro­vides 152 pages of commentary and recom­mendations; Culver, the associate, in 93 pages describes the overall procedure and provides 76 charts summarizing data. This procedure, in addition to the counsel of the sponsoring bodies, involved visits to colleges and seminaries, scanning of their catalogs, a systematic examination of a sampling of

70 colleges and univers1t1es (from a total of 714 schools covering 222 teachers of reli­gion and 882 other teachers) and 60 written reports on faculty discussions. It also in­volved 5 regional consultations in which 250 persons represented 50 seminaries and over 100 colleges and universities; 14 essays delivered at these meetings have been pub­lished by Augsburg under the title The Mak­ing of Ministers. Likewise included is a study of baccalaureate origins of seminary students from the catalogs of 1960-61, from a ques­tionnaire of 1962-63 directed to seminari­ans in 125 theological schools in the United States and Canada, of which 17,565 indi­vidual questionnaires were returned and processed. Facets of this inquiry are under continuing study by Culver.

From the start the Lilly Study recognized that college study could not be reviewed in isolation from many other factors, hence "pre­seminary education" as a target of investiga­tion was widened to include influences and interests prior to college, the seminary train­ing, and a study of ministers in the pastorate, 265 in number, who had been recommended by teachers as outstanding. The Lilly Study report proposes to be conservative in its rec­ognition that college years make a cultural contribution, seminary a professional train­ing, and the ministry itself the vocational integration. The chief value of the Lilly Study is the revealing of the need that all these strands be fused tightly and each be used more efficiently than is presently the case.

The Lilly Study has been expertly con­ducted and is still under way. Special rec­ommendations include institutional speciali­zation for special ministries, and exploration of "the totality of theological education." The huge number of returns in the seminary questionnaire probably compensate for what might be a curious imbalance, in that the two schools providing the most seminarians, Baylor University and Concordia Senior Col-

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BOOK REVIEW 185

lege, do not share in the 70-college sampling of opinions of college teachers.

The trend of the Lilly Study is to view with suspicion the college religion courses or majors as preparation for seminary train­ing and rather to advocate a tough cultural training which does not necessarily make the student easier to teach in the seminary. Obviously the objectives of seminary training need sharpening, and the content of college religion courses a deepening. Evidently many seminarians with a minimum of formal re­ligion in <heir college courses evidence high vocational sense and aptitude for theological study in the seminaries. The other side of the coin is that college religion which is already seminary training may handicap ma­turation and dilute the seminary concerns. Bridston sensibly lists the requirements of the ministry to be met by educational train­ing: religious faith, secular cultivation, pro­fessional competence, vocational integration. His part of this report develops these ele­ments and indicates that the practicing pas­torate does much of the final integration. Field training is not discussed by the Lilly Study except for "pastoral service" provided by seminarians, frequently before seminary years.

Several questions occur to this reviewer, related to concept of "vocational integration." The Lilly Study sharply illuminates the diffi­culty of seminarians to envision or to desire the pastorate; only one third expect ulti­mately to be pastors; the pastorate itself ap­pears to be crucial in the maturing of voca­tional concern. Should it not be possible to relate the diakonia of the pastorate more clearly to the religious dimension of training already in college, not as a skill but as an aspiration? Is there not a difference between the objective of a college religion course taught for the sake of assimilation of infor­mation or of appreciation of cultural values and one taught for the enhancement of a spiritual gift like the will to serve? Is it not

possible to discern difference in level be­tween college and seminary theology, the one for the growth of personal faith and concern, the other for skill in bringing the resources of the Gospel and the church to other peo­ple? Is the correction of seminary training, which now so frequently equips a man to

come back and teach the same courses that he has taken, not to be sought in the accent on the skills of imparting faith and life through ministry? Is it not the discomfort of acquiring these new and untried skills which hampers many a seminarian and bends his interest to "teaching"?

Bridston has actually traversed the ground of all of these questions in his luminous commentary. It is to be hoped that further examination and sharing of the massive data of the Lilly Study will be made available from time to time, and colleges (especially the church-related ones!) and seminaries alike helped to profit from them.

RICHARD R. CAEMMERER

THE PROPERS OF THE SERVICE POINTED TO THE GREGORIAN PSALM-TONES: INTROITS, GRADU­ALS, ALLELUIAS, TRACTS AND SE­QUENCES FOR THE SUNDAYS AND FEAST D.4YS OF THE CHURCH YEAR. By Jerald G. Miner. St. Louis: Concordia Seminary Print Shop, 1965, vi and 229 pages. Paper. $2.50.

Talented Seminarian Miner has done an admirable piece of work in this collection of settings for the propers of the rite of The Lutheran Liturgy. It provides all that the title promises (except the sequence for Christmas) and more; we have the propers not only for all the days in the calendar of The Lutheran Liturgy but also for all of the days that American Lutheran rites of the past have listed (St. Nicholas' Day, St. Gregory's Day, the Presentation of the Augsburg Con­fession, St. Lawrence's Day, the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, the Nativity of the

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186 BOOK REVrnW

B. V. M., Holy Cross Day, the Commemora­tion of the Faithful Departed complete with the Dies Irae, St. Martin's Day, St. Catharine's Day), plus the Common of a Bishop and Confessor, and the propers for the proposed rites for Holy Communion at a wedding and at the ordination of a minister. Choirs often revolt at the sameness of a diet of simple psalm tones, but they are rarely ready for adaptations of the traditional music com­posed for the Latin texts (even where these adaptations are successfully made). Miner strikes a happy medium both by using the festal tones (instead of the simple psalm­tones) and by varying the modes from occa­sion to occasion. The pastor and choirmaster who want both a practical and a good setting of the propers for the services of their church will find what they are looking for here! (The next step would be for Mr. Miner to have a choir of seminarians record these settings on tape so that pastors and choirmas­ters would have an authentic model toward which to point the performance of their own choirs! ) ARTHUR CARL PIEPKORN

PROVERBS - ECCLESIASTES. By R. B. Y. Scott. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1965. liii and 257 pages. Cloth. .$6.00.

"Vapor of vapors! Thinnest of vapors! All is vapor" (Eccl. 1 : 2), is typical of the fresh and colorful translations of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs in Scott's commentary on these books in the Anchor Bible series. This trans­lation is supplemented by brief notes on cru­cial words in the text and by concise intro­ductions to each of the books. In the exe­getical notes themselves the average pastor will find very little "meat" for his preaching ministry. He will be interested to find that Scott says "wisdom" in Proverbs 3 and 8 "is neither instrument nor agent but the attribute displayed by Yahweh in creating." For the "personification of wisdom in chapter eight is poetic only and not ontological." In this

judgment Scott has refrained from allowing Near Eastern parallels from influencing his interpretation. Babylonian, Egyptian, and Canaanite literature, however, offers many valuable insights which Scott has incorpo­rated in his commentary elsewhere. "Wis­dom" was an international mode of thinking of which Qoheleth represents the most philo­sophical and skeptical wing. For the Israelite "wisdom" was, first of all, "a quality of life," the skill, shrewdness, and sagacity given by God, whereby man could live with equi­librium in the moral order of the world. Scott, however, does not seem to make the sharp distinction between experiential and theological wisdom in the same way that scholars like von Rad have done. Scott sur­veys all the Biblical wisdom literature, an­alyzes the literary forms of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, defines the structural divisions of these books ( despite the disorganized nature of Ecclesiastes), and summarizes their religious or philosophical emphases. Crea­tion theology is fundamental throughout Proverbs, while the cultus is completely ignored. In Ecclesiastes the emphasis lies on a pessimistic attitude toward the possibil­ity of direct revelation and the need to face the hard facts of life by searching for a way to enjoy the world men cannot change. Sol­omon's name became associated with each of these books because of the tradition about his role as the patron of wisdom literature. But Ecclesiastes, says Scott, must be dated at least at the end of the Persian period or later. NORMAN C. HABEL

RADICAL OBEDIENCE: THE ETHICS OF RUDOLPH BULTMANN. By Thomas C. aden. Philadelphia : Westminster Press, 1964. 176 pages. Cloth. $3.95.

Oden, who teaches at Philips University, Enid, Okla., argues that the current disrepair of ethics, following the decline of Niebuhr, Tillich, Barth, and Bonhoeffer, can be reme­died by studying Rudolf Bultmann as an

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BOOK REVIEW 187

ethical thinker. Oden sees it as "the heart of our dilemma" that "the new theology has justly undercut the inauthentic basis for mord action in humanistic liberalism with­out supplying a new basis for constructive moral action." (Pp.15-16)

Next to the moral ambiguity of prevailing Protestant ethics Oden lists "the stubborn and inflexible divorce between ethics and exegesis." This problem can be seen in its most acute contemporary form in Tillich's ethics, which "is consistent with his creation gnosticism which boldly argues that 'actu­alized existence is estranged existence'" (p. 20). But Oden also notes that "Bonhoeffer's doctrine of 'simple obedience' (which Barth strictly follows) runs the risk of a fanaticism and subjectivism in ethical resolution which is avoided by Bultmann's anthropology (largely shaped by Buber, Heidegger, and Gogarten)." (P.23)

This is massive criticism indeed. Oden's recommendation is "radical obedience," which means "to listen for and respond to the Word of God speaking through the situ­ation in which one exists" (p. 25). How­ever, this "radical obedience to God cannot be the basis for a systematic theory of ethics" (p. 40 ) . Each concrete moment is also to be seen as ethical and eschatological, like a coin with two sides (p. 26). Radicalobedi­ence is the condition for participation in God's reign. The believer will know what he must do. He will have a sense of vocation in every particular situation.

Oden's criticism of Bultmann, however, seems to negate the expectations he raised for us. Oden holds that Bultmann is incon­sistent when he asserts that '"man's knowledge of obligation is self-knowledge and subject to existential analysis" (p. 121), but that his fallenness "prevents authentic moral knowl­edge and distorts all his good intentions" (p. 122). "Bultmann's ethic is diluted by the absence of a realistic understanding of the intense and endless conflicts of values

and interests and obligations that charac­terize human existence" (p. 123 ) . "Bult­mann's view of 'the mornent' is constantly in danger of becoming an abstraction" (p. 127). But Oden's "principal critique of Bultmann's doctrine of obedience ... is his basic tendency to 'anthropologize' the relation between God and man" (p. 13 0). In view of Oden's encompassing criticism it is hard to see why anyone would want Bultmann's guidance in the field of Christian ethics.

RICHARD KLANN

RECHTGLA"UBIGKEIT UND KETZEREI 1M A"LTESTEN CHRISTENTUM. By Walter Bauer. Second, revised edition by Georg Strecker. Tiibingen: J. c. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1964. 314 pages. Paper, DM 24.00; cloth, DM 28.00.

There is nothing like a heretical book on heresy to jeopardize a well-entrenched and neatly dogmatized assumption of orthodoxy. This is one of the most recent of such icono­clastic salvos. Actually it is an older work by the German scholar famous for his W orter­buch zum Neuen Testament (known to Eng­lish-speaking theologians in the translation and adaptation by Arndt and Gingrich), dressed up in a second, expanded edition.

Bauer's work has been hailed as the most exciting publication on the subject from the pre-World War II period. The unfavorable conditions prevailing at the time of its fust appearance (1934) greatly restricted its recognition, and it is only since 1945 that the startling thesis of this book has become generally known.

Bauer submits to critical analysis the "or­thodox" concept of heresy as defection from ecclesiastical orthodoxy and comes to the con­trary conclusion that before the third century a clear distinction between "orthodox" and "heretical" teaching is impossible. In thc Christian communities at Edessa, Egypt, and Asia Minor theology was "heretical" rather than "orthodox" (as these terms came to be

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188 BOOK REVIEW

employed in the later period), and finally it was the theological pluralism at Rome which ultimately defined the nature of orthodoxy and heresy and determined that the position which the Roman Church had espoused from the beginning would be "orthodox" and thus the only legitimate expression of Christianity in the West.

These most unorthodox conclusions have been under fire ever since their publication. The additional support from the Jewish­Christian writings which Strecker has ap­pended in this second edition has only added more fuel to the flame. Strecker has also included a brief review of the history of this book's reception and rejection in the period since 1934. These reactions alone are enough to encourage the thinking student to consider Queen Gertrude's observation in Hamlet: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

The publishers deserve thanks for making this controversial and stimulating study avail­able once again to a now internationally interested audience. JOHN H. ELLIOTT

A SHORTER LEXICON OF THE GREEK NEW TEST AMENT. By F. Wilbur Ging­rich. Chicago, IlL: The University of Chi­cago Press, 1965. 304 pages. Cloth. $5.00.

The compiler of this dictionary is best known for his work on the Bauer-Arndt­Gingrich Lexicon (BAG), which appeared nine years ago. It may be of some interest to note here that as early as 1928 Gingrich had suggested to the University of Chicago Press a brief dictionary of this kind. The management of the University of Chicago Press was not interested at the time since it believed that there was not much of a market for such a work. The experience of the Uni­versity of Chicago with BAG has changed its outlook.

The Shorter Lexicon is based on the care­ful work which went into BAG. It confines

itself to "the bare meanings of the words," as the foreword puts it. It directs the user to the larger work for more information.

Gingrich chose to limit himself to the words used in the New Testament. An as­terisk at the end of an entry signifies that every use of the word in the New Testa­ment has been taken into account. The work abounds in asterisks; and that fact enhances its value. By a careful choice of examples Gingrich, moreover, was able to include, in summary form, most of the nuances given at greater length in BAG.

Many of us had hoped that it might have been possible to include Hebrew terms from the Old Testament in the manner of G. Ab­bott-Smith's A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. In that expectation we are disappointed. Nevertheless, this Shorter Dic­tionary belongs to the best of the tools pres­ently available for work with the New Testa-ment. MARTIN H. SCHARLEMANN

STEPHEN LANGTON. By Maurice Po­wicke. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1965. 227 pages. Cloth. $7.00.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST. By Henry Loyn. New York: Hillary House Pub­lishers, 1965. 212 pages. Cloth. $3.00.

CRUSADERS AS CONQUERORS, THE CHRONICLE OF MOREA. Translated from the Greek by Harold E. Lurier. New York: Columbia University Press, 1964. 346 pages. Cloth. $7.50.

THE GOVERNANCE OF MEDlAEV AL ENGLAND. By H. G. Richardson and G. O. Sayles. Edinburgh: The University Press, 1964. 514 pages. Cloth. $12.00.

LATER MEDlEV AL EUROPE: FROM ST. LOUIS TO LUTHER. By Daniel Waley. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1964. 306 pages. Cloth. $5.00.

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BOOK REVIEW 189

THE CRISIS OF CHURCH AND STATE 1050-1300. By Brian Tierney. Engle­wood, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964. 211 pages. Cloth, $5.50; paper, $2.45.

Stephen Langton is a reprint of a biog-raphy originating as the Ford Lectures de­livered at Oxford in 1927. With meticulous attention to documentary evidence, Powicke has reconstructed the life of the eminent archbishop of Canterbury. Langton's claim to fame lies primarily in his association with Magna Charta, and in this connection the author has generally vindicated the arch­bishop and Innocent III from the anticlerical charges of interference in the episcopal elec­tion of 1207. Although Powicke is undoubt­edly correct in stating that canon law by this time was universally recognized as authorita­tive, and therefore a decisive factor in Lang­ton's victory over John, he tends to ignore both the binding force of customary law in England and the relative novelty of canon law (Gratian's Decretum dates from 1139, but the Leges Henrici Primi from 11 00). The book corrects the overemphasis which has been placed on Langton's role as poli­tician by offering a summary of his contribu­tions as a theologian and archbishop.

The Norman Conquest is a synthesis of many recent articles and books on this phe­nomenon of English history. Loyn, who is well known among medievalists as an expert in Anglo-Norman affairs, begins his account with the early history of the Norman duchy and the minority and personal rule of Duke William. The discussion of the conquest it­self is highly interesting and well docu­mented. However, throughout the entire work only one reference is made, and that in passing, to Alexander II (1061-1073), who played a significant role in the Con­quest. Later chapters examine the feudal settlement in England, the royal government and control of the church, and the effects of the Norman Conquest on English social de­velopment. Although the book is intended

for the general reader and the undergraduate, the specialist in Anglo-Continental relations will find it very useful.

Crusaders as Conquerors is the first Eng­lish translation of a group of eight accounts known as the Chronicle of Morea. Follow­ing the conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, a group of Western knights established themselves in southern Greece as the Frankish principality of Morea. The Chronicle reflects the competition and dissension among the victorious Latins until their dissolution late in the 15th century. As a historical narrative the ChroJ~icle itself is hardly dependable, revealing strong biases and confused chronologies. As social history, however, it offers us an excellent example of artificial feudalism superimposed upon a non­feudal principality. Lurier's translation is clear, but it still retains the flavor of the original in its simplicity. It is a welcome addition to the scores of works being pro­duced in crusading history.

The Governance of Mediaeval England is a highly significant contribution to the study of English institutions. Richardson and Sayles, who have coauthored eleven other monographs in this field since 1934, are probably the foremost scholars of early Par­liamentary history. The book is a conscious revision of Stubbs' Constitutional History, since, in the opinion of the authors, new dis­coveries have made it imperative that long cherished misconceptions be exposed. For instance, the notion that Langton had a hand in the actual drafting of Magna Charta is "remote from probability and incompatible with available evidence." Even more star­tling is the conclusion that the Norman Con­quest caused no break in the history of Eng­lish institutions. The real revolution for English instimtions came with the reconquest of Normandy by the English in 1106. The authors then proceed to trace the strength of the English administration and the imper­sonal monarchy to the establishment of the

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190 BOOK REVIEW

Exchequer. The book is something of a watershed for historians, since no student of medieval institutions can ignore its well doc­umented conclusions. Here is dramatic evi­dence for the tentative and hypothetical nature of some of our most cherished histori­cal shibboleths.

Later Medieval Europe: From St. Louis to Luther, is the kind of book we have been looking for as a background for Reformation studies. Although the author treats cultural and economic history, his principal theme is the growth in the power of the state from c. 1250 to c.1520. He traces the political institutions of the European states, using ex­tensive quotations from primary sources throughout. The chapter on the emergence of the duchy of Burgundy is one of the best treatments this reviewer has seen of this com­plex problem, but in Waley's treatment of the Turkish "threat" of the 15th century one wishes that he would at least have taken cognizance of Myron Gilmore's thesis that the threat has been largely manufactured by historians. We are happy that Waley has qualified the oft-repeated cliche of German nationalism assisting in the success of the Reformation. Indeed, more often than not it hindered Luther's work, according to Waley.

The Crisis of Church and State 1050 to 1300 is a judicious collection of sources deal­ing with the problem. The author's selections point up the fact that the issue was not simply one of investiture. It involved the changing concept of the state, but even more important, it was concerned with society's attitude toward the material universe. Cor­nell's Tierney has managed to bring together the key passages from the original documents, translated in clear prose. He offers a brief introduction to each series of collections and has explained the obscure references. Alto­gether there are 65 entries, many of them until now locked in Migne's Latin Patrology,

CARL VOLZ

STUDIES IN THE TEXT AND THEOL­OGY OF THE BOOK OF LAMENT A­TIONS. By Berti! Albrektson. Lund: Hakan Ohlssons Boktrykkeri, 1964. viii and 258 pages. Paper. Price not given.

This work is Albrektson's inaugural dis-sertation at the University of Lund. It begins with a masterful critical edition of the Peshitta text of Lamentations. There follows a text-critical analysis of Lamentations based on the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Peshitta texts. This analysis is supplemented by brief exegetical notes. In his closing section on the origin of the theology of Lamentations the author takes issue with Gottwald and sees one key to the book of Lamentations in the conflict between the harsh reality of his­tory and the Zion tradition to which the author belongs. Albrektson holds that the writer of Lamentations reflects certain Deu­teronomistic emphases and, in particular, is dependent upon Deut.28. This is a major contribution to Old Testament scholarship.

NORMAN C. HABEL

TEACHING IS COMMUNICATING: AN AUDIO-VISUAL HANDBOOK FOR CHURCH USE. By John Harrell. New York: The Seabury Press, 1965. 142 pages. Cloth. $3.95.

This little volume illustrates the whole­some trend toward more sophisticated and meaningful use of audiovisual means in teaching. The newness has worn off in the use of projectors, pictures, tape recorders and the like. The author is concerned that any user of audiovisuals have an idea of the theory and theology behind their use. Har­rell shows both the difficulties and the op­portunities in the use of audiovisual devices. He proposes a theory of communication in which a man (M) perceives an event (E) which is modified by M's point of view and the context of E. The man makes a state­ment about the event (SE) in which his

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BOOK REVIEW 191

values and beliefs modify the statement and determine how truthful he will be about the event. The student hearing or observing the SE perceives it as an event and the same forces play a part in his attempt at a state­ment of the event. Thus the response or "feedback" from the learner is very important in order to see how he perceives the event.

Harrell explicates the theology implicit in the act of communication as involving the perception of events as God's creativity and the selection of events as worthwhile in that light. The perception of the Christ-event is the measure of all other things we perceive and makes us open and truthful in commu­nication. Then our statements of event also become a part of God's on-going creativity. In this way the Christian is aware of and can evaluate distortions of reality.

The student cannot always experience reality in the learning situation, although sometimes the teacher can plan an experience of reality. At other times there will have to be reproductions, representations, or ab­stractions of reality. When the teacher plans to use commercial audiovisual aids rather than his own, he needs carefully to evaluate these means because they tend to have prim­ary or secondary values inimical to the Chris­tian values.

The final chapter of the book speaks of the necessity of the student's response or statement of event. This can be done ver­bally or non verbally in a wide variety of ways. Harrell lists many such ways and in­dicates the conditions necessary for such per­sonal expression.

For those interested in responsible use of audiovisuals in communication this book is very helpful. It provides not only a serious attempt at theory and theology but a gen­erous amount of technique, titles, and re­sources as well. The author succeeds in changing the image that most people have of audiovisual handbooks.

ROBERT CONRAD

THIRTY-SIX PSALMS: AN ENGLISH VERSION. By Frank Kendon. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1963. viii and 63 pages. Cloth. $5.00.

These 36 psalms represent the "unfinished symphony" of a great poet. Using the rough draft of the panel of translators for the Psalms in the New English Bible, Kendon reformulated the wording into good English poetry in a way which would preserve the beauty and feeling of the Hebrew original. Unfortunately he died before the work could be completed. This is a majestic, simple, and accurate translation.

NORMAN C. HABEL

V ATKE UND WELLHAUSEN. By Lothar Perlitt. Berlin: Alfred Topelmann Verlag, 1965. 248 pages. Cloth. Price not given.

It is usually profitable to evaluate one's position in the light of history. It is doubly important in the assessment of a theological technique. Perlitt's brilliant doctoral disserta­tion on Vatke and Wellhausen, two of the leading figures in the application of historical methods in the interpretation of the Old Testament, is therefore welcome. The first half of his work is a concise analysis of the presuppositions pertaining to historiography and the philosophy of history which were apparent in the second half of the 19th cen­tury. The degree to which these presupposi­tions prevail today, either overtly, or uncon­sciously, is a subject worthy of further in­vestigation. Perlitt's study of Vatke traces the background and development in his his­torical and philosophical methodology. One quotation about Vatke seems apropos: "Durch Hegel's Philosophie theologisch und dutch de Wette's zusammenfassende bibel­kritische Arbeit historisch ausgeriistet, unter­nahm Vatke als erster den Versuch, die bibli­sche Theologie aus der Vcrbindung von theologischem Prinzip und konsequent ge­schichtlicher Periodisierung zu eutwerfen"

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192 BOOK REVmW

(p.104). Wellhausen's method is scrutinized in a similar manner. Of special importance is the assertion that just as Herder did not affirm the Enlightenment's optimistic faith in progress, "so jagte auch Wellhausen keinem Fortschritt in der Geschichte nach, sehnte sich nach keiner Evolution (am wenigsten nach einer Evolutions-Theorie) und verwarf die Vorstellung einer kasualmechanischen Bestimmtheit. Er war vielmehr entschlossen zu 'glauben, dass Gott hinter dem Mechanis­mus der Welt steht.' Die Stufen der Reli­gion, wie die Stufen der Geschichte iiber­haupt, bleiben neben einander bestehn." (P. 185) NORMAN c. HABEL

THE FORMULAS OF THE DEUTERO­NOMIC CREED (Dt. 6/20-23:26/5-9). By Joanne Wijngaards. Tilburg, Holland: Drukkerij A. Reijnen, 1963. 58 pages. Paper. 12 Dutch guilders.

Through a formulaic source-critical ex­amination of all texts containing the Exodus land-giving structure the author of this monograph confirms in more detail the view previously advanced by George E. Menden­hall that Israel's recollection of her history owes its existence, its particular form, and its juridical function to the covenantal ttadition. This accent on the covenantal function of Heilsgeschichte modifies Gerhard von Rad's view of the Old Testament as primarily a "theology of recital." Here is a valuable contribution to the specialized literature on the creedal material of the Old Testament.

FREDERICK W. DANKER

THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN CONFES­SIONS. By Vernon H. Neufeld. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1963. xii and 166 pages. Cloth. 20 Dutch guilders.

In this study of early Christian confessions Neufeld concludes that the earliest form of the homologia was "Jesus is the Christ" (cf. Mark 8:29 and 14:61; 15:2) rather than "Jesus is Lord." The geographical expansion

of the church also saw a maturing process in which the unique relationship of Jesus to the Father was expressed in the confession, "Jesus is the Son of God." Among Gentiles the form "Jesus is Lord" became popular, but was already found in the Aramaic-speak­ing community (cf. 1 Cor. 16:22). This is a real contribution to the history of Chris-tian creeds. FREDERICK W. DANKER

DIE MYTHISCHE BEDEUTUNG DES MEERES IN A·GYPTENJ UGARIT UND ISRAEL. By Otto Kaiser. Berlin: Verlag Alfred Topelmann, 1962. 196 pages. Pa­per. DM 24.00.

This revised dissertation presents a schol­arly investigation of the most important references to the role of the sea and chaos deities of Egyptian and Ugaritic mythology. An adequate understanding of the sea-chaos myth in the ancient Near East, however, de­mands a full treatment of the Babylonian myths as well. The writer makes a study of Nun, the Egyptian god of the water (Nile) and the father of the gods, and compares him with two Canaanite deities, Yam and El. While Yam is apparently a chaos deity it is difficult to understand how the location of El's royal abode at the confluence of the deeps qualifies him for the role of the god of the underground waters. The fourth part of the book discusses the evidence for traces of water deities in Gen. 6:7-14; Gen. 32: 23-33; and 2 Kings 5:1-19, and the points of contact between ancient mythology, the Jed of Gen. 2:6, and the four streams from Paradise (Gen. 2: 10-14). Chaos themes are traced through the creation account of Gen­esis, the flood narrative, the crossing of the Reed Sea and the Jordan, and the various dragon conflicts attributed to Yahweh. The polemical implications of these references in terms of Bedeutung could, however, be elab­orated considerably.

NORMAN C. HABEL


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